东芝和索尼放弃了开发统一格式的下一代DVD格式

Tuesday 23 August 2005, 8:07pm EST
由东芝领导的HDDVD联盟 和索尼领导的蓝光DVD联盟
放弃了开发统一格式的下一代DVD格式

For three years, the two groups have pushed to have their respective technology standards adopted to gain dominance in the multibillion-dollar markets for DVD players, PC drives and optical discs.

Toshiba, along with NEC Corp. (6701.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Sanyo Electric Co. (6764.T: Quote, Profile, Research), has been promoting HD DVD, while Sony and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (6752.T: Quote, Profile, Research), the maker of Panasonic brand products, have been developing a technology known as Blu-ray.

The two groups have held negotiations on unifying their formats to persuade consumers to shift to advanced discs and to promote growth in the industry.

But negotiations fell through as neither side yielded, and time ran out to develop a format before the launch of new products from both groups, the paper said.

Officials at Toshiba and Sony were not immediately available for comment.

Sony's Blu-ray technology is also backed by Dell Inc. (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research).

At the core of both formats are blue lasers, which have a shorter wavelength than red lasers used in current DVD equipment, allowing discs to store data at higher densities needed for high-definition movies and television.